1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a four chord harmonica with advanced functions, which can produce three fundamental chords in each of major and minor modes and which can be also used as a chromatic harmonica.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a conventional harmonica, a user can play only two chords, a tonic chord when exhaling and a supertonic chord when inhaling. Accordingly, in base playing or arpeggio playing, the user cannot always provide natural expression appropriate for the chord progression of the song. With respect thereto, there is a “variable chord harmonica” provided by Mr. Haruo Tanahashi (see Patent Document 1). This harmonica enables playing of fundamental triads in a major key by modifying the tone rows of a slide chromatic harmonica; when the slide is not pushed, conventional tone rows are provided, while, when the slide is pushed, the blow notes constitute the subdominant chord and the draw notes constitute the dominant chord.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-49141
However, such a harmonica is not suitable for advanced musical expression because of its disadvantage of losing a function as a chromatic harmonica. Despite the use of an expensive instrument of a slide harmonica having a relatively complicated structure, what can be played are mere three chords in a single key. It should be stated that the disadvantage of losing a function as a chromatic harmonica is greater than the advantage of being able to play the three fundamental chords.
Accordingly, purposes of the present invention are to solve the problem involved in the aforementioned related art and to provide a harmonica having advanced functions and a simple structure, which can produce three fundamental chords in each of major and minor modes and which can be also used as a chromatic harmonica.
It can be said that, when considering the present invention, the most difficult technical problem to overcome was eliminating a mere assumption or a stereotype. A conventional slide chromatic harmonica has the following tone rows.
Upper blow notesCEGCUpper draw notesDFABLower blow notesC-sharpE-sharpG-sharpC-sharpLower draw notesD-sharpF-sharpA-sharpB-sharp
The C major scale can be played without pushing the slide, that is only with upper reeds, and when the slide is pushed, all the blow and draw notes are raised by a half step. Namely, two tone rows are required to express the major scale, and the other two tone rows are additionally used to express the other chromatic notes.
It can be conceived by anyone that, by assigning different chord tones to three tone rows among the four tone rows of the upper blow notes, upper draw notes, lower blow notes, and lower draw notes in this slide harmonica, fundamental triads can be produced. However, only with the remaining one tone row, the chromatic scale cannot be expressed, which seems to be inevitable. Anyone considers that, in order to produce fundamental chords, a function as a chromatic harmonica needs to be abandoned instead. Once they assume it to be inevitable, people will not consider the matter any further. Nobody will consider how the lost function can be restored or which tone rows should be provided to configure a harmonica that can produce three fundamental chords and can also function as a chromatic harmonica, for example.
Is this really impossible, I wonder? We can answer to this question as follows. Among the fundamental triads, when the dominant chord is provided as a seventh chord consisting of four notes and each of the remaining two chords is constituted by three notes, 10 reeds are sufficient for an octave. Further, in order to allow the harmonica to function as a chromatic harmonica, five other notes absent in the major scale may be added. Therefore, 15 reeds are necessary and sufficient for an octave. Meanwhile, a slide harmonica has four reeds for one hole, and one octave consists of four holes, so that 16 reeds are provided therein. Thus, if it is only asked whether or not such a harmonica can be configured, without specifically considering which tone rows should be provided, it is possible, and tone rows for enabling the creation of the harmonica certainly exist.
By the way, I also did not initially intend to make such a harmonica. My original purpose was to make a harmonica which can produce four chords, and it was the following simple one.
Upper blow notes Do Mi Sol * Do : C
Upper draw notes Re Fa Sol Ti Re : G7
Lower blow notes * Fa La Do * : F
Lower draw notes Re Fa La * Re : Dm
Fundamental triads and the D minor (Dm) chord were merely assigned to the four tone rows. Then, two disturbing problems arose: one was that there were many blank spaces * because the chords other than the dominant chord were constituted by three notes; the other was that the F and Dm chords, having only one different note, were arranged. Because only four chords can be produced, chords having different characteristics should be desirably assigned; however, the situation will not change even if Dm is changed to A minor (Am) or E minor (Em). I have been thinking that notes should be arranged regularly and as naturally and beautifully as possible; the arrangement should not have anything missing or anything extra, and there should be strong necessity for the whole arrangement.
The aforementioned harmonica admittedly accomplished the original purpose of producing four chords. However, it was obviously imperfect as an instrument. I felt the necessity to fill the blank spaces *. So, then, I tried to build up every chord with four voices. There are three possibilities. The sixth chord, seventh chord, and major seventh chord. Which type should be selected? One approach is to add a note absent in the scale. This is because, although adding a note within the scale merely means filling a blank space *, adding a note absent in the scale can improve the functionality of the harmonica. For example, adding Ti-flat to the tonic chord to make a seventh chord enables playing of the major scale in a key that is a fourth higher than the original key of the harmonica. Also, adding Mi-flat to the subdominant chord enables playing of the major scale in a key that is a second lower than the original key. Further, the Dm chord is made to the D minor sixth (Dm6) chord, which has fewer overlaps with the subdominant chord. Consequently, We get a harmonica that can produce the four chords of the C seventh (C7), F seventh (F7), G seventh (G7), and Dm6 and can play major scales in three keys. This is fascinating enough already. But, we do not need to stop, because we have come here. We notice that it is easy to restore the function as a chromatic harmonica. A conventional chromatic harmonica is set so that, when the slide plate is pushed, all the seven notes are raised by a half step; however, such setting is unnecessary. As there are black keys for five notes in a piano, only five notes should be newly added. Since Ti-flat and Mi-flat are included in the three fundamental chords, when the remaining three notes of Re-flat, Sol-flat, and La-flat are added, the harmonica can produce the three fundamental chords in a major key and also can function as a chromatic harmonica.